It’s easy to blow through our day without a word of prayer. Life does not seem to be kind to those just trying to survive, and it may feel like prayer is a luxury. Prayer takes time, sometimes we don’t know what to say, and it can feel like prayer takes more out of us than we get from it. But luxuries are those things that adorn our walls, garages, and closets that have no bearing on our survival. Prayer, on the other hand, is the very lifeline for our existence. Esther’s extraordinary halting of assured genocide began with fasting and prayer. Jesus’ own ministry was directly out of a daily routine of dawn-greeting prayers; to the very end he was in prayer, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 24:36). Prayer— the audacity of bringing our poverty to the extravagance of God— roots us in the reality of God, and keeps us upright in the gale forces of popular opinion, self-preservation, and desperation. Let the Lord’s Prayer guide your questions, concerns, hopes and dreams.
“Our Father in Heaven…”. You’re our dad that loves us; we are in your hands. “Hallowed be your name…” You are set apart in every way. The very best in every way. “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” give us a holy imagination that sees the way things are ordered and flourishing in heaven so we can see it here on earth. “Give us this day our daily bread…” Lord, we need whatever it is that will get us through this moment. “And forgive our debts as we have forgiven our debtors…” Help us look at the other and see what you see—forgiven fixer-uppers that need to be reminded of their dignity and worth. “Lead us not into temptation…” No shortcuts, God; we want to go on the road marked by your footprints. “And deliver us from the Evil One…” Because of you, Satan has no purchase on us, and we will not give a square inch of our attention to his lies; we find rest in your hands. “For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.” This is all for you, from beginning to end; we are all for you. Forever. “Amen.” Amen.
Grace and peace,
Steve Wong
Lead Pastor
Our Father in heaven Everlasting Father of the fatherless, Heaven is Your throne and the earth is Your footstool. The heavens declare Your glory, and the sky above proclaims Your handiwork. O Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name From the rising of the sun to its setting, may Your Name be praised and be great among the nations! Let Your glory be over all the earth! Let heaven and earth praise You, the seas and everything that moves in them.
Your Kingdom come May all the ends of the earth remember and turn to You, and all the families of the nations worship before You. For kingship belongs to You; You rule over the nations. You are the strength of Your people – the saving refuge of Your anointed! Oh, save Your people and bless Your heritage! Be our Shepherd and carry us forever! You are our King, O God! You are the King of all the earth! Your throne is forever and ever.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven Make us to know Your ways, O Lord. Teach us Your paths. Teach us to do Your will! Let your good Spirit lead us on level ground! Not our will, but Yours be done!
Give us this day our daily bread. You, our God, will supply every need of ours according to Your riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Give us neither poverty nor riches; feed us with the food that is needful for us, lest we be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest we be poor and steal and profane the name of our God. Satisfy us with righteousness.
Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors. We confess our iniquity; we are sorry for our sin. Have mercy on us, O God. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity, and cleanse us from our sin! For Your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon our guilt for it is great.
Lead us not into temptation…but Deliver us from Evil We do not ask that you take us out of the world, but that you keep us from the evil one. Restore us; let Your face shine, that we may be saved. For the glory of Your name, deliver us and atone for our sins, for Your name’s sake! You are our steadfast love and our fortress, our stronghold and our deliverer!
For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever and ever.
(Scriptures compiled by Trevin Wax © 2007 Kingdom People blog)
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
Why do we read Scripture together in our Growth Groups? New Testament scholar NT Wright compares Scripture to a five-act play, full of drama and surprise, wherein the people of God are invited into the story to improvise the final act. We enter the narrative to see how our stories interact with the epic drama of God’s redemption of the world. Every page of the Bible offers us an invitation—to ask questions, to wonder about why Jesus does what he does, to seek to know the mind of the Creator and Redeemer. And all biblical devotion is to allow us to be “thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:17). At PasCov, we are committed to being captivated by God’s Word together!
As Rachel Held Evans wrote in her final book, Inspired,“God is still breathing. The Bible is both inspired and inspiring. Our job is to ready the sails and gather the embers, to discuss and debate, and like the biblical character Jacob, to wrestle with the mystery until God gives us a blessing. If you’re curious, you will never leave the text without learning something new. If you’re persistent, you just might leave inspired.”
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
While our eyes are trained on the news reports that give us updates about the devastating effects of Hurricane Dorian that has battered and destroyed much of the northern Bahamas, we pray to the Lord:
Pray for those in need of rescue that it will come swiftly.
There are many who are in need of miracles. That teams would arrive an hour sooner, that dogs would catch a faint scent amidst the stench of death, that the right piece of debris would be moved. For all the training and effort that the courageous rescue teams put in, at this point they need miracles more than anything else. And for those seeking to expedite relief and humanitarian aid to the unimaginably traumatized areas--- may they be safe and effective in getting supplies to survivors despite the destroyed infrastructure.
Pray for the rescuers – safety, rest, encouragement, in the midst of horror and unrelenting pain.
The job that the rescue teams face is completely overwhelming and they will fail many more times than they will succeed. Rescue teams suffer great personal trauma and often become suicidal months after an event. Pray for these courageous men and women now and after they return from the ravaged areas with countless grieving survivors.
Pray for families that have witnessed the unthinkable, are worried about loved ones, and fearful for their own safety.
The aftermath of this catastrophic hurricane will be months and years of emotional trauma, staggering challenges for rebuilding, and recovery of a deep sense of hope for people whose lives have been upended and amputated from what they were last week.
Lord have mercy!
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
In their book Groups That Thrive, Joel Comiskey and Jim Egli researched 4800 small group participants across four continents. They asked the question "Why are some small groups dynamic, attractive, and breathe the life of Christ? Why do other groups stagnate and close?" They discovered that in a thriving group people feel loved, accepted and embraced. The meeting is like a gathering of good friends with the presence of Jesus in their midst. Each member is a participant, so there is an "our group" mentality, with no one on the sidelines. Facilitators are not Bible teachers but gentle guides who encourage the asking of open questions and honest discussion. Thriving communities require a supernatural mix of prayer and Spirit-led anointing that makes a way for everyone to participate, for the healing presence of God, and for vibrant life that blesses others. And these groups remain committed to multiplying and expanding, to inviting friends, to keeping a chair open for guests to be included.
Our PasCov October rollout of Growth Groups will follow this sort of thriving group model with inductive Bible study and conversation, perhaps after a meal. These formational groups will be hosted in various locations throughout the San Gabriel Valley and will be places of deep connection, where we can listen to the Word and each other as we seek to follow Jesus.
Watch the church lobby for the Growth Groups board to appear on September 8th for sign-ups. Until then, please join us in praying for many to be stirred by the Spirit to draw nearer to God!
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
A friend told me that he thinks of our lives with God as an orchestra. He reminded me of that moment before the concert when the concertmaster asks the oboist to sound an A. At first there is chaos and noise as all parts of the orchestra try to align themselves with that note. But as each instrument moves closer and closer to it, the noise diminishes and when they all finally sound it together, there is a moment of rest, of homecoming.
That is how it feels to me. We are always tuning in the orchestra of followers of Jesus. Somewhere deep inside there is a sound from God that is ours alone to hear, and we struggle daily to hear it and tune our life to it. Sometimes there are people and situations that help us to hear our note more clearly; other times, people and situations make it harder for us to hear. A lot depends on our commitment to listening and our intention to stay coherent with this note. It is only when our lives are tuned to that note that we can play life's mysterious and holy music without tainting it with our own discordance, our own bitterness, resentment, agenda, and fears.
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
He said to the crowd: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot,' and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to pay attention to the present moment?” —Luke 12. 54-56
In this 500-channel, multi-sensory, hyperactive world, what do you give your attention to? Do you follow your favorite team? Watch the weather? Track the stock market? Keep tabs on movie stars? Or are these things you ignore for other matters?
Do you fasten your attention on fear and anxiety, or do you keep your eyes peeled for grace? Is your radar tuned to people's judgments, or do you attend to the love of God within you? Do you fill your consciousness with past mistakes, fears of the future, things you regret or dread or the way you wish things were—especially the way you wish things were— or do you pay attention to the present moment?
What do you see? What is true in you and around you right now? What is happening this moment? How is your breathing? Start there. Stay there. Pay attention to the present moment. Be available to the grace of God that is hidden in what is around you. Simply be present. You'll be surprised how lovely it is.
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
Fred Rogers said that. As in Mister. As in the fire engine red cardigan and the songs about neighbors. I’ve been ruminating on those words this past month. Complicated. How often do I use that word in my daily life? How often do I run through my days living “busy,” living “complicated”? I’m thinking about deep simplicity versus shallow complexity. What does it mean to cultivate a deep and simple life, to weed out the things that—in their seeming importance—seduce me into believing their complications are necessary? What is deep? What is simple? The answer to those questions almost always points toward what is good. I want to cultivate the simple and the deep in my ordinary life. I want to be present for real people in my physical life. I want to serve my church and community. I want to be a good friend, a person who isn’t constantly busy, constantly distracted.
“How can you live with the terrifying thought that the hurricane has become human, that the fire has become flesh, that life itself came to life and walked in our midst? Christianity either means that, or it means nothing. It is either the more devastating disclosure of the deepest reality in the world, or it’s a sham, a nonsense, a bit of deceitful play-acting. Most of us, unable to cope with saying either of those things, condemn ourselves to live in the shallow world in between.” N T Wright All God’s Worth
There’s the word again: shallow. As humans, we most often train ourselves to choose the shallow. It hurts less. And in order to make ourselves feel valuable, we shape the shallow to look important, complicated. Shallow lives are dangerous things.
And then there’s Jesus. We who believe in him are the people who believe in the hurricane turned human, in the fire become flesh. How far are we willing to walk into this faith of ours? Are we willing to trust in the deep reality that leads us out of shallow complications and into the rich simplicity of Jesus?
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
It’s a tiny word in the English language, but the word “yet” is so powerful.
In Isaiah 64:8, the sentence starts with “Yet.” This is fundamental, in the Old Testament and even today, to a Hebrew view of spirituality. Sometimes you’ll see in Hebrew, “But now.” This “yet” or “but now” was always at the heart of Jewish spirituality, because it meant hope was always possible even when logic and circumstances seemed to point to a bad outcome. This “yet” tells us that Yahweh is always our Father or our Potter. Against all odds, he makes a different outcome possible. Through the Hebrew Old Testament, we see the verb “to form.” You could think of it as a father forming a daughter or son, or a potter forming clay in his hands.
The idea is that we are the people of God’s hands. We come from God and are completely dependent on God. Both Father and Potter convey to us close personal connections. God’s hands are actually on our squishy little misshapen lives. Our role is to remain malleable in God’s hands, opening our lives and hearts and souls with active anticipation and hope. We might doubt that a “yet” or “but now” is possible for us. If so, we pray that we may remain ready to see, to always have an active anticipation and hope for God’s surprising, gracious and powerful deliverance. (inspiration from Todd Hunter)
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation